Queen
The beginning
Queen’s story began in 1970 in London, when guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and vocalist Freddie Mercury joined forces to create a band that were destined to become superstars. May and Taylor came from a more psychedelic hard rock background, which can be recognisable also in Queen's beginnings. The band’s classic line-up as a quatuor was born in 1971 with the addition of bass player John Deacon.
In 1973 and 1974 they released three albums: Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, including classic songs like Keep Yourself Alive, Seven Seas of Rhye and Killer Queen.
Queen II reached number 5 in the UK and the band went on their first tour in the US with British Mott the Hoople, a band that Brian May refers to as being an important influence. Soon, Queen would take over the world.
A Night At The Opera
Queen’s career as a reference group within rock really started with the eclectic and almost undefinable breakthrough album A Night At The Opera, mixing their influences from hard rock, progressive rock, British pop, opera and even folk/countrymusic. A mix that would compose their characteristic sounds throughout the 70s and 80s.
A Night At The Opera, 1975
Album cover, A Night At The Opera, 1975.
Bohemian Rhapsody
A Night At The Opera included signature hit and first single Bohemian Rhapsody, a small rock symphony on its own. The song combined hard rock riffs and opera harmonies, and paved the way for the characteristic and bombastic Queen sound, often with a touch of humour.
The single would be reissued in 1991 just after Freddie Mercury's passing. In the US, it re-entered the charts much thanks to its revival in the movie "Wayne's world," in a classic car headbanging scene.
Being almost 6 minutes long, the band never thought Bohemian Rhapsody would be supported by radio, but the single was number one for nine whole weeks in England and the album climbed to Top 10 in the US, and went platinum.
One of the first conceptual music videos was also made to launch the song, that has also become classic in modern pop history.
Brian May on Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Hit Makers
Between 1975 and 1980 Queen continued to work at a rapid pace, releasing 4 albums, all with classical songs – Somebody to love, We will rock you, We are the champions, Bicycle race, Crazy little thing called love, Another one bites the dust.
All albums made top ten, and usually sold gold or platinum.
One quartet, four composers
All four members in the classic line-up have all contributed to Queen's success and hitting high in the charts for over a decade. They have all written at least one of the band's hits, alone or in different constellations, for example:
Somebody to love (Freddie Mercury) Another one bites the dust (John Deacon) Radio Ga Ga (Roger Taylor) We will rock you (Brian May) The Show must go on (May, Mercury, Deacon, Taylor) Don't stop me now (May, Mercury)
"My songs are just basically commercial love songs. I like to put my emotional talent into that."
– Freddie Mercury on his songwriting
Emblematic live performances
The 80s was the arena world tour decade. The band also started touring in territories they hadn't previously been to: Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Brazil...
Legendary performances at such historic events as 1985’s Live Aid concert and their own headlining appearance at London’s Wembley Stadium in 1986 cemented their status as the greatest band to ever set foot on a stage, with the remarkable Freddie Mercury regularly voted music’s greatest frontman.
The band continued to release hit albums during the 1980s: A Kind of Magic (1986) and The Miracle (1989).
“I remember watching Mott The Hoople burst onto the stage and the whole audience would erupt because it was just engineered that way. I say engineered because you do work on an audience, you don’t just stroll on and plink away and hope something will happen."
– Brian May on touring with Mott The Hoople in the beginning of Queen's career, guitar.com
Innuendo
Innuendo, released in 1991, would be the last album as a quartet. It is the band's 14th studio album and was released only months before the passing of Freddie Mercury in November 1991. The album was once again a big hit in Europe and the US, including the dramatic sort of farewell song "The Show Must Go On."
Posthume album
Bohemian Rhapsody gained popularity again just after Freddie Mercury's death, and a Greatest Hits 2 was also released in the beginning of the 1990s.
In 1995 was released a posthumous album with recordings done with Freddie Mercury just before his death. This marked the end of the original line up as John Deacon retired from music at the same time.
The legend continues
The musical "We will rock you" premiered in 2002, based on the band's song, and hasn't stopped touring since.
In 2004, Brian May and Roger Taylor relaunched Queen with former Free/Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers under the banner Queen + Paul Rodgers. But it was their union with former American Idol contestant Adam Lambert in 2011 that added a remarkable new chapter to the story of this legendary band.
Queen + Adam Lambert have become a globe-circling juggernaut, introducing new generations of fans to Queen's music while honouring the legacy of the band and Freddie Mercury in particular.
Queen + Adam Lambert rock ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ | Platinum Party at the Palace - BBC
The Legacy
14 studio albums, a staggering 38 UK Top 40 hits (including three No.1 singles in ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Under Pressure’ and ‘Innuendo’) and massive success in America, where ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ reached No.1 on the US Billboard Charts.
The biopic Bohemian Rhapsody premiered in 2018 with Rami Malik as Freddie Mercury, a role he got an Oscar for.
Queen’s greatness can be measured in the recognition that has come with their musical accomplishments, from their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame to the prestigious Brit, Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and Ivor Novello Awards they have amassed, among others.
But arguably their most important achievement is the enduring appeal the group and their music under the guardianship of Brian May and Roger Taylor continues to have. More than half a century after they started, this most regal of bands are as beloved now as they have ever been, their music still central to the lives of so many people.
Few band’s in the late 20th century have managed to mix genres the way Queen did, and keep it interesting and magical and envoûtant.
2001: Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters presenting Queen as inductees in the Rock N Roll Hall OF Fame
This article was written in 2025. Sources: Allmusic.com, Wikipedia, Official Biography, Youtube, Wikimedia Commons. Header Photo © Miracle Productions LLP
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